Usain Bolt is not amused by, nor endorsed the contents of this thread.

i think he should challenge CD to a match race.

mnr race 2 27with 8 10 exactas 8 to win

it would feel wonderful.

Perfect trip by Curlin, perfect ride by Albarado. Just got run down by horses that had never been the distance.

He did a GREAT job handicapping the first 5 races, which put him in position to make a score in the Classic. :tro:

:$: :tro: :$: :tro:

agreed. :D

now, am i the only one calling bullsh!t when jess jackson was being interviewed before the race, or is it the cynic in me rearing it's head? he gave all those wonderful, flowery reasons for running curlin this year. but do we really believe it was for sportsmanship, for the game, the horses legacy, etc? or was it the only choice due to the legalities surrounding the horse? i think it's because not one stud farm out there would touch him because of midnight cry, and all the surrounding issues to go with it.

it might even feel better than how i felt watching casino drive fade from view.

Thanks Mig!

Horrible ride, Albarado was out rode by smarter and better jockeys all three in which finished in front of him. It was not the surface either, it was poor decision making and a awful judge of pace.

With that slow pace(which was a given when one read the PP's), why not wait a little longer, save ground, and make a run for the wire in the stretch??

IMO... He rode the horse like the win was a guarantee and the only thing that was of concern was by how many lengths were to be between him and the field.

To the thread topic, Curlin was/is not the best in 25 years. I would not have thought so if he had won this race by 32 lengths. This field was very questionable, with no real legit G1 winners other than the Euros.

Where are they teaching this approach? :rolleyes:

blame the jock university?

I think NowNowNow's performance in the 11th will go a long way towards confirming or refuting this claim. He was best last out but had ZERO chance the way the course was playing.

Seemed like the finishers were all keying on Curlin . Hard to win when you are marked like that. But that's the clarity of hind sight .

This is the approach Albarado should have taken instead of riding the race like the win was a formality and the only thing in question was how many he was going be ahead by when he crossed the wire.

I do not know where they teach it, but apparently the Euro's are subscribing to it.

Raven's Pass
 

I took a some flak from a certain party for the posting below (on the "discuss the 3 Euros thread"), especially the part about superior milers being able to stretch out. I had watched this horse race on British TV and in person at Newmarket and thought I had something to share. Now may I please gloat a little in his general direction?<that's a paraphrase of a famous line in Monty Python and the Holy Grail>

I'd also like to point out that on the same thread Linny took up the case for Conduit, while pointing out that the better US turf runners include many who had been below the first rank over in Europe. Well done, Linny.

"Raven's Pass is one tough customer; he doesn't go under without a fight. His losses, apart from those at the straight track at Newmarket, are none of them over 1.5 lengths. He was very good early at 2, and was beaten only a head by champion 2yo and subsequent Derby winner New Approach in the Dewhurst S(G1), which is Britain's championship event for 2yos. He went a long stretch over the spring and summer without a win (behind Henry 3 times), but seemed to have taken heart from his G3 win in August to finally peg back Henry in the QEII and may be maturing later than that one. His half-brother Gigawatt certainly seems to have gone through a 'dead zone' at three after having been a SW at 2 before having his best years as an older horse; he was a dirt horse AND a turf horse.

"The major knock against Raven's Pass is that he has never run at a distance beyond 8f. Sire Elusive Quality and half-bro Gigawatt were also milers, so one must wonder about his effectiveness at 10f. But his quality is quite high - they have a darned good group of 3yos in Europe this year - which can carry milers another couple furlongs beyond their optimum trip. And, oh yes, Raven's Pass has also won on a left-handed course."

I agree with this. I think he consistently moves early on this horse. He's gotten away with it against Past the Point and Wanderin Boy and thought he could do the same today.

This is America, Ace. Drafting behind horses is considered getting a POOR TRIP here. Wide, no cover, PREMATURE moves are the norm. This is the land of BIASES. Take the lead on a dirt track and you're typically home. Curlin, the best horse in the land, is outkicked by a couple of milers, as his rider is in a hurry to make the lead by the turn. Great way to go down. :rolleyes:

I never said go to the inside, but not go 7-8 wide around the entire turn. The horses who passed him(good, bad, otherwise) employed this tactic.

It worked for 3 of them right?

I thought this was the Socialist Republic of Obamaland... my bad.

Socialist IFF the present administration was buying up banks (and other businesses). They'd certainly know.

by the same token, they said earlier in the show that it takes longer to catch horses on the awt's. maybe that was his thinking as well?
hard to say. he rode like he had the best horse, and all year, he has had the best horse.
too bad he's going out like this. curlin hadn't lost on dirt since the haskell. er, real dirt.

I just saw him with his taillights in reverse going west on the 210 freeway headed to Dubai via LAX.

He made the move that won most of the BC "dirt" races this year. Just wasnt good enough. Losing to Ravens Pass isnt something to be ashamed of. Getting outfinished for third by Tiago is. The last 2 races he won by small margins over weak horses were chalked up to his only doing what he had to do to win. I still believe he just isnt as great as his fans believe him to be and has been fortunate to run in the era of the worst older horses, probably ever. He is a very good horse but not in the top 50 of all time and certainly not the best of the last 25 years. Clever Trevor, by the way, would be a full fledged star nowadays.

And if you believe what "they" say on TV all the time, you aren't very smart. You know better than that!!

It was a bad ride, plain and simple. He sorely misjudged the pace and was out finished by 3 horses, not 1, but 3!!! Getting out finished by 1 would have been acceptable, simply a better horse, but to be out finished by 3 and Tiago as one of them.... not good at all.

Agreed.

Figjam

If you're talking about Crist?? Capital OTB gave him a $5000 bankroll to play the pic-6. Don't know how many people qualified but, during the week there were 200+ people that qualified. You had to be present at Teletheater to win.

I had the 1st two legs of the late pick 4
partly because I listened to you

no comment on the rest of the ticket but I just wanted to say you provided me with Raven's Pass.

Thanks for the insight :tro:

From Crist Blog:

I'm told there were 41 patrons at the Albany teletheatre who sliced up the (second) $55k ticket. To be in the pool, you had to wager over $2500 through Capitol OTB during September and October, and then show up today at the teletheatre and register.

Midnight Lute ran great and it was a tremendous training job to have him ready after all his issues but counting these times as stakes records is crazy.

Why is it crazy?

The track was freaking conveyor belt?

maybe for xmas Shiekh Mo can buy Casino Drive for number 1 wife to use as a rabbit for her good horses?